Picturing William B. Upton

As a family historian, I know I am very fortunate. I have a photograph of nearly all 16 of my 2nd great-grandparents. I know what each of them looked like except for one: William B. Upton.

The thought that a photo of him may be out there floating around is maddening. It's as though I have a nearly complete collection of dishes. I'm just missing the plates. The collector in me wants a complete set. The family historian in me wants to scrutinize his face to see if I can discern a physical resemblance.

William was born in the town of Bowen in Madison County, Arkansas in about 1848 to John Wesley Upton and Martha Bowen. There's speculation that his middle name may have been "Bowen" but there's also speculation that it was Billy (although it seems more likely that that was a nickname for William). 

John was a Civil War veteran who, upon his enlistment with the Union forces, received an inoculation for smallpox that was contaminated with syphilis (see Disease in the Civil War). On May 27, 1865, John wrote a letter from Ft. Smith, Arkansas to his family. John wrote, "Tell Will to work and make him another hat and be cirten (sic) and not let the Rebels get it." Family lore says that William made himself a hat to replicate his father's union uniform cap, but it was stolen by roaming Rebels. In this same letter, John writes, "Tell Will and Johnny I will send them something the next time. I have no more money now to by (sic) them anything with." 

In 1899, when John was on his deathbed, one of his granddaughters remembered that he asked that "his little girl" be lifted up on the bed so he could see her once more. She recalled that he had a long white beard. Did William have facial hair like his father?

William's first appearance on the U.S. Federal census occurred in 1850 in Bowen, Madison County, Arkansas. At four years old, he was enumerated as the eldest child in the household along with a sister.

In 1860, William's age was given as 12 years old suggesting a birth year of approximately 1848 (and conflicting with the 1850 census). Still in Madison County, Arkansas, he was listed as the eldest of five children and the only son. The sister enumerated in 1850 was not listed in 1860. She presumably died in the previous ten years. Did any of William's surviving siblings receive a photo of him? Is there a photo in the collection of their descendants?

In 1870, William was enumerated as a 22 year old farmer living in Arkansas with his wife Susan and their first child, a daughter named Elizabeth.

In 1880, William was enumerated as a 32 year old farmer living in Arkansas married to Susan. They had five children: three daughters and two sons.

In 1900, William and Susan were enumerated in Idaho living near their daughter Margaret Jane "Peggy" (Upton) Brame. His birth was given as October 1848. He and Susan had been married for 32 years, and had five children - all of whom were living at that time although none of them were enumerated as residing in the household.

Did any of the five children receive or inherit a photograph of their father? Does a photograph exist in the collection of any of their descendants?

According to his headstone, William died on February 3, 1904. His passing in the early 20th century means he lived well into the age of photography. Surely, there's a photograph of him somewhere, right?! 

The sleuth work to track down the descendants of William's siblings (of whom there were seven living in the 1900 census) and his children is underway in the hopes that one of them has a photograph that will fill the void in my collection of ancestors.

Family History on the Road - Day Four

Yesterday's rainstorms subsided and gave way to a beautiful morning. We were ambitious for day four of our family history journey with lots of ground to cover on the agenda.

Our first stop was Hester Cemetery near Baldwin, Arkansas on the outskirts of Fayetteville. There's a small sign alongside a two-lane county highway pointing down a gravel road. Keep your eyes peeled, or you'll miss it!

Wheel ruts have been carved deep into the dirt path. The tires of my rental car sank into these canyons while the molded lump of earth between the ruts dragged along the underneath of the car's frame. I worried that we would tear loose the vehicle's undercarriage. (Take note, family history road warriors, rent an SUV!) After a short distance, the road opened up into a small grassy parking lot in front of a gated cemetery that's well maintained.

Hester cemetery is where my 2nd great-grandparents Wilburn Malley and Annie Charles (Winkler) Wagnon are buried. The Wagnons were dealt a traumatic blow when they lost their 15-year-old son Wayne in 1937. According to a newspaper account, Wayne was run over by a "loaded truck" at his parents' home when he tried to board it. "He lost his footing and fell under the machine, which was loaded with rock, with a wheel passing over his body."

A homemade stone marker sits on his grave with his name scrawled into the monument's skyward-facing surface. Later in the road trip, an aunt shared with me a haunting photo of Annie visiting the grave of her son, laying flowers at the base of his headstone. Clearly, the heartache and loss was something she carried with her the rest of her life.

Today, the stone's inscription is difficult to read. On either side of Wayne's grave are two small square-sized numeric markers embedded in the grass. To the left of Wayne is a stone marked 47 and to the right is one marked 49. These are the graves of Annie and Wilburn. Annie is buried in plot 47 and Wilburn is buried in plot 49.

Our next scheduled stop was Neal Cemetery in Madison County, Arkansas. It's an old cemetery with the last burial more than 70 years ago. My 4th great-grandmother Elizabeth (Powell) Reeves was buried here in 1884. She was the wife of Jeremiah Turner Reeves, the War of 1812 ancestor whose grave we visited on day three. For unknown reasons they were buried in different cemeteries.

Following directions from FindAGrave and ArkansasGraveStones.org, we searched for an unnamed dirt drive that turned off Highway 74. There were several. The GPS kept conking out as the cell signal was lost deep in the Arkansas hills. One of the drives was sealed with a gate. Another shot upward at an insurmountable incline for the rental car. A third drive led to a private residence with no cemetery in sight.

Back on Highway 74, I pulled off the pavement alongside a lush green pasture populated with a dozen calves. I stepped out of the car to see if I could catch a cell signal. The cows paused their grazing and cocked their heads left and then right, curiously eyeing me as I walked with my iPhone futilely trying to reactivate my GPS. Although we knew we were close, we were at a loss and our day didn't have time enough to accommodate continued search efforts. We decided that Great-Grandma Reeves would be the reason we would come back. And hopefully with better instructions!

We left the hills behind us, and pulled into Strain Cemetery - the final resting place for my 3rd great-grandparents John and Mary Jane (Calfee) Wagnon (parents of the above-mentioned Wilburn). When Mary Jane pre-deceased John in 1914, he erected for her a modest-sized monument. Although there's no inscription on the stone or separate marker for John, his 1923 death certificate confirms that he was also buried in Strain. I believe he's buried beside his wife.

Headstone for Mary Jane (Calfee) Wagnon

The journey continued to Baptist Ford Cemetery in Greenland, Arkansas where my 3rd great-grandparents John Wesley and Martha (Bowen) Upton are buried. During the Civil War, John Upton served with Union forces, and readers of this blog will recall that I recently learned from his pension file that he was inoculated with "poison vaccine."

Upton Burial

It was difficult to locate their marker because the inscription was very faint. We discovered that someone had taken an abrasive tool to the surface of the stone to remove the obstructing moss. In the course of their efforts, they inadvertently scraped away portions of the inscription. I'm sure they meant well, but it's disheartening to see irreparable damage to stonework that's over a century old.

I couldn't travel all of this way and not make the extra 60 miles south to Fort Smith National Historic Site. It was at Fort Smith that John W. Upton enlisted with the Union army on October 1, 1863 - more than 150 years ago. Although the soldiers' barracks from the Civil War era no longer exist, I wanted to set foot on the ground where John enlisted and where he received his tainted vaccination. It was a tremendous experience to wander an American historic site with an articulated link to my family's own history.

J.W. Upton's Enlistment and Fort Smith grounds

Closing the day, we drove across the Arkansas River into Oklahoma - our road trip's fifth state. We spent the evening in Muskogee reconnecting with family that we hadn't seen in 21 years.

Day Four Recap

Miles Traveled: 180

Direct Ancestor Graves Visited: 6

Disease in the Civil War

Earlier this week, I renewed my US National Archives research card. I requested Civil War pension files be pulled for two direct ancestors who served with the Union in the War of the Rebellion.

I made my way to the Archives early in the morning. The weather was gorgeous, but I didn't mind being holed up inside. In fact, I was excited to see what new information the pensions would provide. In what ways would they bring to life the war experience for my ancestors? What new information, if any, would advance my genealogy?

This was my first experience having original records pulled. When I entered the research room and signed for the first set of files, I was surprised at the size of the envelope. I thought the pension would be a couple pages. Judging by the size of the package, I was probably looking at well over 50 documents.

Both pensions were for 3rd great-grandfathers. I imagined their files to be filled with heroic accounts of battles and military accomplishments. Instead, they were rooted in something much less romantic and incredibly common - disease. They petitioned the government for pensions due to illness and poor health they attributed to their enlistment in the army.

Albert Benedick (Rank in: Private; Rank out: Sergeant)
Albert Benedick served in Company A of the 188th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. According to his pension application, he fell ill with measles shortly after his enlistment in February 1865 and suffered lasting affects.

Among the records is a hand-written affidavit from his brother John Benedick outlining the specifics of Albert's illness.

In a separate affidavit, Albert assures the pension authorities that, "I know these disabilitys are not due to any vicious habits." His request was approved, and he did receive a pension.

John W. Upton (Rank In/Out: Private)

Another 3rd great-grandfather also petitioned the government for a pension as a result of disabilities resulting from service in the war. John W. Upton enlisted with Company B of the 1st Regiment of the Arkansas Infantry.

Shortly after enlisting, John received a vaccination along with other soldiers that made him very ill. A sworn affidavit states that, "in the month of October 1863 he was vaccinated in the left arm at Fort Smith Arkansas with poisonous vaccine matter...he was vaccinated by the order of the proper officer to prevent small pox." John eventually landed in the hospital too weak to serve and suffering, in particular, from "afflictions of the eyes."

Among his records is a set of correspondence between the pension office and the War Department's Surgeon General's Office. There was an accusation that the vaccine provided to the soldiers was contaminated with syphilis.

The Surgeon General's Office confirmed that there were "222 cases of syphilis" among the 1st Regiment. The response also stated that, "The whole subject is under investigation by a Committee of Medical Officers appointed for that purpose...I forbear any further remarks at this time."

I didn't see any final response or conclusion on the matter, but John's pension application was finally approved.

Disease in War Time
In both instances, I was struck by the heavy toll that disease inflicted on the enlisted men. According to the Civil War Trust, as many as two-thirds of the 620,000 soldiers who died in the war succumbed to disease, not combat.

Mindful of those remarkable statistics, it seems Albert and John, although they remained afflicted the rest of their lives, were fortunate to have survived their initial illnesses.

Next steps include locating any existing carded medical records for John and Albert, which could shed more light on their afflictions and treatment. Archives bound...